6 Professions I Will Play in Guild Wars 2

I’m an alt-a-holic. But not just that, I do feel that professions in Guild Wars 2 are unique enough from each other that there is much replay value in playing multiple characters. So I narrowed down my list of personal must-play professions to 6.

Quick math, that means I won’t play 2 professions. Spoiler: it’s the thief and warrior. Why not? Well, I’ve never been that into the rogue/assassin gameplay, and I can do my warrioring on other professions already. I tried thief and warrior, they are fun. Maybe once I finish up with my first 6 choices. So without delay…

From last to first, based entirely on personal preference.

6th place: Ranger, pet collector extraordinaire!

The ranger’s greatest characteristic for me is his ability to charm a lot of different creatures, both on land and under water. These creatures will come with different abilities, but more interestingly, a lot of them are just soooo cuuuuute! Even the creepy ones. Seriously, I love pets, and many of my Guild Wars 1 characters went secondary ranger just to collect pets.

The ranger also features a wide variety of ranged and melee weapons, making him an interesting alternative to the warrior for combat. He also has a variety of traps and evasive skills making him an alternative to the thief for hit & run gameplay. This will be a fun one to combat with.

This one got me excited because of his ability to switch attunement, so you can basically switch between damage-heavy elements of fire or air (more like lightning), or switch to more useful elements like the healing/snaring water, or the blinding/knockdowning/armoring earth (ok, so I made up some new words). The true elementalist, in my opinion, will be defined by those who can swap attunement in-combat, making creative use of cross-element combos.

And you get two summon elemental skills, one optional, the other elite.

4th place: Necromancer, I don’t need friends, I can summon them!

I like summons. It’s a small wonder that I don’t end up having necros as my main in every single game that has them. Maybe I find death icky. But I do like summons, and the necromancer sure has some fun ones. And they come with fun skills like the ability to blow one up, root one to turn it into a turret, make one blind your foe, make another charge… You can bet I’ll be spending most of my necro time surrounded by a small army.

Summons are entirely found on right 5 skill slots (healing, optionals, and elite) leaving you the ability to pick any two weapon sets you want. Plus with the death shroud, that means you get to switch between three combat builds, so it’s not going to be passive gameplay.

3rd place: Engineer, a.k.a. Batman!

You have the toolbelt, the guns shooting nets and glue, rocket boots, flashbangs, mines, flame turrets that also can create smoke screens, potions and lotions, grappling hooks, etc. With all this gadgetry, I wouldn’t be surprised if this profession came with its own hidden cave.

Good luck mastering all this junk!

2nd place: Guardian, and definitely NOT a paladin!

It’s hard to describe the guardian. He has strong offensive abilities, especially in melee range. But he does not rely as much on healing as paladins are known for. Instead, he uses wards to block people from walking around, or protective bubbles to block ranged attacks. Ok yeah, and he does some healing too.

But what makes the guardian interesting in my opinion is how these different abilities combine within a bar. Rather than being a main healing at times, and a main tank at other times, you seamlessly use protection and damage skills within your own bar. And this hybrid gameplay is what interests me most about this curious profession.

1st place: Mesmer, one spell to confuse them all!

The mesmer is probably the most misunderstood profession of Guild Wars, both the original and the sequel. And this is just how mesmers like it. But rest assured, they are always valuable members of your party, even if you don’t understand what they do. Rest assured that foes will be far less effective, distracted and shut down.

3 Opinions have been expressed on “6 Professions I Will Play in Guild Wars 2”

I love the technology and the overall steampunk feeling of the profession. I also enjoy the versatility. It’s in last place on this list because it’s versatility lends it to being an unfocused playstyle.

5. Necromancer

Great support and condition damage are experienced with the profession. Personally, the images the character conjures are a bit disgusting. Otherwise, the health draining, support, minions, and conditions make this profession a casting version of a pocket knife.

4. Warrior

Ah, the meat and potatoes profession. I started peering into the profession’s potential during the last BWE and enjoyed it. The capability of tabards and the sheer variety of weapons make this profession extremely enjoyable. However, I enjoy a character with a more hybrid feel, and as such this professions comes in at #4.

3. Elementalist

Flash and fire are always fun. So’s conjuring fiery great-swords and turning into a tornado. I’m impressed with the wide range of options this profession offers. I’m also enthralled with how visual its skills are. This professions starts many combos and plays well with most other professions, particular archers and leaping melee playstyles.

2. Ranger

I love nature based characters and have become drawn to this playstyle for some time now. I found the axe and warhorn to be an enjoyable combo and I enjoyed summoning nature spirits. Being able to battle-trap and double up your melee with your pet are huge benefits to the this profession.

1. Guardian

I am absolutely in love with this profession. I’m a bit of a cleric at heart and this choice really appease that urge. The mix of magic and melee felt right to me, as did the ability to summon spirits weapons, consecrations, and the feel of the weapons. This will no doubt be my main and I will easily log 100s of hours into this profession.

Excellent article!
I bought the game, downloaded and played the same day: during the 2nd to last stress test, lucky me. My extensive ~ 2.5 hours of playtime has led me to the following reversed summation

I played a Guardian/Nord and I must say I was taken with it.

(1) Guardian [I like the idea of survival over brawn, this guy has both]
(2) Mesmer [he/she is a trickster, ready to put a damper on your day]
(3) Necromancer [they’re just so evil, which makes them appealing]
(4) Elementalist [blow stuff up in style]
(5) Engineer [blow stuff up the old fashioned way]
(6) Thief [jumps around like a jack rabbit, cool n’est pas?]

To be honest, I don’t have anything against a Ranger or Warrior, they’re just further down the rung for me.

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